traumasensitiveschools.org<\/a>, “responses to traumatic events can interfere with a child’s ability to learn at school.”<\/p>\n“We made this unbelievable shift to learning that the children’s experience makes it so that they are just trying to figure out the world around them,” Byer said.<\/p>\n
Byer said one of the changes made in helping get children engaged in the learning process was changing the school’s suspension rule. Byer said unless something significant happened or would involve a safety issue, the school would no longer suspend children from school.<\/p>\n
Keeping children in classrooms as much as possible ties into the social skills Byer said Riverbend wanted children to learn.<\/p>\n
“I really want the kids to learn to read, write and be able to do math,” Byer said. “The new skills for successful people are that they are able to develop relationships with people. Skills that you can learn and be able to work alongside with others is more important in the 21st century. We have really worked on the social-emotional piece. I really do fundamentally believe that if the kids can work together, get along and support each other and have empathy and kindness, they will learn these skills.”<\/p>\n
Taking all that into account, Byer said, has changed the elementary school’s mission statement to “Riverbend is a safe place where we feed our minds, bodies and hearts. It is our school family.”<\/p>\n
Byer said the staff has embraced this philosophy. Byer said she also implemented a “shared leadership approach” with staff that allowed them to share ideas more freely and play up their strengths.<\/p>\n
“There are so many strengths on this staff, that it would be wise to continue to use their talents,” Byer said. “I think it is really important to respect the staff you work with. I have always worked under the belief, that there is no job too great or too small and that we are on a level playing field. The only thing that changes is the job description.”<\/p>\n
Allowing teachers to focus on their strengths, third-grade teacher TJ Cramer said, really played a role in how teachers were able to perform their duties.<\/p>\n
“If we had an idea, she would be super supportive,” Cramer said. “I wanted to do a songwriting program (with Juneau Alaska Music Matters) and she supported it. We have an amazing staff and she really let us blend.”<\/p>\n
Cramer, who has worked with Byer for three years, said the work Byer put into changing the school’s atmosphere made it feel like a better place. <\/p>\n
“Michelle really focused on kids with a trauma-filled background,” Cramer said. “From what I heard before I started working here, it is a much warmer place. It is a school where the children feel loved.”<\/p>\n
Jenn Lanz, who has two children at Riverbend and is the resident of the Parent Teacher Organization, said Byer’s approach has helped build more than just a better school. <\/p>\n
“I have never met anyone with a bigger heart,” Lanz said. “She embodied everything we want Riverbend to be. She met every one of those kiddos with a hug. It is more than a school, it is a family.”<\/p>\n
\n• Contact reporter Gregory Philson at gphilson@juneauempire.com or call at 523-2265. Follow him on Twitter at @GTPhilson.<\/b><\/p>\n
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